Richvale man hopes to win seat on Board of Education

OROVILLE — On Nov. 6 voters in Durham, Biggs, Gridley and Richvale will have a chance to pick an incumbent or a challenger for a seat on the Butte County Board of Education representing Trustee Area 4.

Brenda McLaughlin, 61, lives in Durham and owns a small business in Chico, Creekside Cellars.

She has served on the Board of Education for 32 years, first elected in 1980.

McLaughlin attended Butte College and UC Davis, and also attended a culinary institute over the last 10 years.

"I just thoroughly enjoy being on the board," said McLaughlin. "I feel I represent a good cross-section of people in the area."

During her tenure, she has served on boards of the California County Boards of Education and on the California School Boards Association.

The budget and uncertainty over how much money schools will have in order to plan for the year are the biggest issues districts face, she said.

McLaughlin isn't sure how to fix it.

"I wish I had a magic wand," she said.

"What we can do would be fiscal oversight of districts, helping them with their budgets."

"Knowledge and experience are my greatest strengths," she said. "I also am not shy about stating facts and bringing facts to the front that people may not want to hear. I want to make sure all issues are brought to the forefront so we all know what's happening."

McLaughlin said it's been a pleasure serving on the board, and she feels she still has a lot to contribute.

"The major part of my contribution is knowing the districts and representing the families, so that we know what kinds of services are needed and what we can do to be of help to the districts," she said.

Casey Ackerman

Casey B. Ackerman, 49, lives in Richvale. He is a real estate broker and currently takes care of his disabled mother. Ackerman has a degree in public administration from Chico State University, and minored in collective bargaining. He also said he has a law degree.

He has lived in the county all his life and attended school in the county.

"Districts are not focusing on what they should be, or on what students' needs are," said Ackerman in a phone interview recently. "Also, I don't think the budgetary process is to the best advantage of the schools.

"They're just number-crunching," he said of the districts. "They need to do more investigating," Ackerman said. "They need to do more line-by-line checking to see where they've actually spent."

Ackerman said the biggest issue is districts aren't paying attention to the budget process like they should.

"Instead of looking at it like a cost-benefit analysis, they're just making budget cuts," he said. "There has to be more balancing the schools' needs rather than just eliminating the money to balance the budget."

Ackerman also said some kids aren't being taken into consideration in the districts.

"What about the ones not college-bound?" he asked. "We're not giving them the tools to become productive citizens." He said he wants to bring to the Board of Education "a voice to look out for the person that needs to be looked out for; to be an advocate for students, teachers, parents on what is supposed to be produced for schools."